Reversible steam turbine



' Oct. 26,1926.

F. C. WEYER REVERSIBLE STEAM TURBINE Filed Junel so. 1924 s sheets-sheet 1 Oct. 26 1926. 1,604,730

- F. c. W'EYER REVERSIBLE STEAM TURBINE Filed June so, 1924 5 sheets-sheeV/:aA

oct. ze, 192e. 1,604,130

' F. C. WEYER REVERSIBLE STEAM TUREINE Filedvaune 30, 1924 5 sheets-sheets amm,

inner sectional shaft upon Patented Oct. 26, 1926.

FRED C.\WEYER, OF MILWAUKEE7 WISCONSIN.

REVERSIBLE STEAM TUEEINE.

Application ined :rune 3o,

This invention relates to ay reversible steam turbine and has for one of its objects to provide a is of horizon an inner roto l ferentially spaced rows of outwardly extending radial vanes turbine of this character that tal type and provided with an which is secured r having' a plurality of circuinor blades, and an outer sec-' tional shaft upon which is secured an outer rotor having a plurality of spaced rows of inwardly extending radial varies orblades,

the outer sha ing the inner ft and rotor entirely surroundshaft and rotor in concentric relation and with the varies or blades of the respective rotors being transversely concaved in opposite directionsand alternately interlitting each other.

Another object of this invention is vide -a turbine of this cha to `proracter having'a cylinder enclosing the respective rotors and provided with a steam chest at one end having therein a balance piston and a divided reciprocating vane or blade ring and an eX- liaust chamber at the other end, whereby the steam will travel from the steam chest tothe exhaust chamber longitudinally through the turbine along the space between theM rotors that is intercepted by the respective vanes or blades thereo f, whereby to cause additional expansion of the steam when oneor the other ofthe rotors A further provide one end braking disk, and r. rotor with a and oppositely, disposed pairs of ing` coacting disk and the is held inactive. i

object of this invention is to of the inner shaft with a the exteriorV of the outer circumferential braking. ring reciprocatbralre shoes forengaging the ring for locking against rotation one or the other of'said rotorsthe brake shoes being actuated by reversible fluid pressure cylinders and pistons tively upon the frame and turbine.

mounted respeccylinder 'of the A Suii further Object finis invention is" to provide one of the endsjof. the inner and the outer sha posed bevelled ternately mesh fts with .spaced oppositely dispower. gearsV adapted to al. withone or the other, of the bevelled surfaces of an'oppositely bevelled fixed shift-able gear wheel mounted upon a main power `shaft at one side of the turbine, the shiftable gear wheel being thrown into mesh with either power gearthrough the medium r cylinder and of the vturbin of a reversible fluid pressure piston located upon the frame e in proximity to the shiftable 1924. semaine. 723,410.

1 ,6o4,73o i ics. N

ion that is slidably mounted on the governor shaft, and which pinion is shifted to mesh with either. of the last-inentioned bevelled gears by a connection with the piston rod of one of the reversible fluid pressure cylinders upon the steam cylinder of theftu'rbine for l operating the governor regardless of whichever rotor is in operation..

Still another object of this invention is to so connect the divided sections of the vane or blade ring with they piston rods of the reversible fluid pressure cylinders and pistons upon the turbine cylinder as to simultaneously reciprocate the blade ring sections in accordance-with the movements of the brake shoes'of the outer rotor.

And a still further object of. this invention is to provide each of the reversible fluid pressure cylinders `with a dual pipe connection with a singleuniversal valve and body, the body comprising l one of which compartments is connected one set of the dual pipes while the other set of thel dual pipes is connected to the othercompartment, with a rotary valve in the valve body having one side thereof connected to a iuid pressure tank and the opposite side connected to a fluid release or fluid receiving tank, whereby a half revolution of the rotaryV valve in either direction will alternately convertone set or the other of the respective dual pipes into fluid pressure pipes or fluid release pipes and vice versa for reciprocating the pistoiisof the :Huid pressure cylinders for actuating the brake shoes, shifting gears and blade ring` sectionsin accordance with lie desired direction of rotation of the turine.

These and `other objects will more fully appear and the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood fromv the description inthe followingspecification, the subject-matter of the amended claims and the views illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which, l l

Figure 1 is a vertical, longitudinal sectional view through the general construction thereof;

Figure 2 is a top, plan Vview of the right hand end of the turbine, on a reduced scale, showing the power driven shaft, the shifttwo compartments to turbine showing the Figure 8 is a detailed fragmentary viewV of Va portion of the vanes or blades of the blade ring. the outer orvreversely drivenro- DI s i a tor and the inner or forwardly driven rotor rshowing' the course of the steam therethrough when the bladering is in operation and the inner rotor is held stationary and the outer or reversible rotor is being driven f inthe direction of thearrow;

Figure l is a detailed fragmentary view of a portion of vthe vanes or blades of the outer or reversely driven rotor and the vanes or lbladesl of the inner or forwardly driven rotor with the vane or blade ring sections withdrawn from operation showing the course of the steam therethrough when the outer rotor is held stationary and the inner rotor is being driven .in the direction of the arrow; l 'i i 'Y j Figure is a top plan'view of the valve and valve body showing its pipe connections with the fluid vpressure and fluid release or receiving tanks; and

' 3 leading to the Suitably secured Figure 6 is anvertical sectional view on line 2-2 of Figure showing the detailed construction of the universal valve and the valve body. y

,Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout'thefseveral views` 1 denotes the base frame of the turbine provided with preferably eight bearing supports 2 formed with suitable lubricating channels or chiots y main bearings 4c in the supports Zand which are preferablyvtwo-'part bearings though. other suitable forms of bearings may be employed.` The frame of the turbine is further provided with the main caps 5, a smaller cap 6 and the end cap 7 to enclose and protect the bearings 4t and other working parts within the frame and its housings. Y Y

Extending through the longitudinal centerof'the turbine and revolving in the bearing blocks et is the sectional or two-part inner or forward drive shaft 8, though this may besa continuous solid shaft if desired7 and secured upon one end of the shaft 8 is a Vbrake disk f) l'iaving its periphery formed with transversely inclined diverging'Y faces. upon the shaft 8. in proximity to` the brake disk 9 is an inwardly inclined bevelled forward drive gear 10, and likewise secured upon and adjacent'to the opposite end of the shaft 8 is an inwardly inclined bevelled governor driving gear 11.

Secured upon the contiguous ends of the inner shaft 8 is the cylindrical inner or forward drive rotor 12 which may he a solid rotor but is, preferably .hollowed out as at pfand upon theperiphery of the rotor 12 is suitably secured a plurality of .equi-spaced circumferential rows of outwardly' extending radial vanes or blades 14 which gradually increase in length from the steam intalre end to the exhaust end of the turbine and are transversely concaved and slightly inclined in one direction as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and l of the drawings.

Surrounding the inner or lforward drive shaft 8 and revolving tlierearound in certain other of the bearing blocks a is the sectional or two-part outer' or reverse drive shaft 15 having interposed between itself and the inner shaft 8 the two spacing and bearing sleeves 16. There is secured upon the outer end of the right hand section of the outer shaft 15 an inwardly inclined bevelled reverse drive powergear 17 in slight spaced relation to the forward drive power gear 10 and also secured upon the opposite outer end of the left-hand sectionfof the vouter shaft 15 is an inwardly inclined bevelled governor driving gear 18 also in slight spaced relation to the opposing bevelled governor driving vgear 11. 1n proximity to the governor driving gears 11 and 18,the inner shafty S is provided with the thrust bearing 19, and the outer shaft 15 is provided with the thrust bearing 2O for preventing any undue lateral or longitudinal movements of the shafts S and 15. Y l v Connecting the inner ends of the outer sectional .shaft 15 and surrounding the inner or forward drive rotor 12 :is the outer or reverse drive rotor 21, consisting of acy lindrical body divergently tapering from the steam inlet end towards the exhaust end and provided thereat with an annular flange 22 and being snugly surrounded by Aa similar shaped shell or sleeve 23 also provided with an annular flange 211 in liuxtaposition to the flange 22 and through which flanges 22 and 24 project the screw bolts 25 for securing the rotor 21 and its sleeve 23 to the circular plate or disk 26 having its hub portion rigidly secured to the right-hand section of the outer or reverse shaft 15 andprovided with a plurality of exhaust steam outlet openings 27 adjacent its periphery. At the inner end of the outer rotor 21 there is a row of spaced inwardly Vextending flat plates or struts 28 set. edgewise to the course of the steam and having one gof their ends mortised or seated in the inner wall of the rotor 21 and their opposite ends likewise mortised or seated in the inner end of the hub 29 formed at the inner end of the left-hand section'of the outer shaftl. Secured upon the inner surface of the outer rotor 21 is .a plurality of equi-spaced rows of radial or inwardly extending vanes or blades 30 which gradually increase in length from the steam intake end to the exhaust end of the turbine allowed by the taper of the rotor 21.r The vanesfSO are transversely concaved and slightly inupon the outer shaft 15 clined but in a direction opposite to that of the vanes 14 of the rot-or 12 into which they operatively interfit and are preferably the same in number. Formed upon theshell or .sleeve 23 of the rotor 21 is the centrally located circumferential brake ring 31 having oppositely disposed inclined braking sur- -l'aces. The construction .set forth in the foregoing paragraph constitutes the outeror reverse rotor 21 and its mountings upon the respective outer or reverse shaft sections 15.

.Surrounding the inner and outer rotors and the inner end portions of the inner and outer shafts is the turbine cylinder 32 provided with the steam chest 33 having the steam inlet ports 34, the head 35, the exhaust chamber 36, exhaust pipe 38 and the by-pass 39 leading from the steam chest 33 to the exhaust pipe 38 to provide for the proper functioning of the balance valve 40 mounted within the steam chest 33. Also operatively mounted in the steam chest 33 is a divided vane or blade ring 41 provided upon its inner surrounding surface with a row of spaced inwardly projccting radial vanes or blades 42 which are also transversely concaved and slightly inclined in a direction similar to the vanes 14 of the inner rotor 12 as clear-ly shown in Fig. 3. The sections of the blade ring 41. when not required for use, are capable ofbeing withdrawn in opposite directions from the steam chest 33 and into the housings 43 formed in the wall of the steam chest 33 through themedium of the rods 44 secured thereto and having their outer ends loosely connected to an arm of the bell crank levers 45 pivotally mounted upon the steam chest 33. Y i

Mounted upon the smaller cap 6 is a reversible governor or governor operating de-y vice 46 of any well-known design having upon the lower end of its vertical shaft the bevelled pinion 47 meshingy with a bevelled pinion 48 on a horizontal shaft 49 upon which is slidably keyed a double faced bevelled gear pinion 50 adapted to be shifted into mesh with either of the bevelled gears 11 or 18 as desired by the shifting lever 51 attached to the actuating connecting rod 52 to be later described.

Revolubly mounted in the bearings 4upon the base frame 1 at one .side of the turbine is the main power driven shaft 53 (see Fig. 2) upon which is slidablyl keyed or splined the double bevelled faced main power gear wheel 54 adapted to be shifted into mesh with either of the beveled power gears 10 or 17 of the inner and outer shafts 8 and 15 by the shifting arm operatively attached to the hub of the gear wheel 54 and actuated in a manner to be later described.

ln order to cause the turbine to become a forward drive motor or a reverse drive motor there are employed four brake shoe cylinder 32 housings, two oppositely disposed on the right hand end of the turbine frame and designated 56 and two oppositely disposed on the `turbine cylinder and designated 57. As the brake shoes and their operating devices are substantially the same, description of one will sui'lice for all. Operatively mounted within each ofthe housings 56 and 5'? is a pair of oppositely disposed inclined faced brake shoes 58 having secured thereto one end of the operating stems 59 which slidably project through the side walls of the housings 56and 57, the projecting ends of the stems 59 being pivotally connected to the oppositely disposed links 60 at either side of the housings 56 and 57. The links 69 at the left of the housings having their inner ends-'pivotally mounted adjacent the housings with the operating stems 59 pivotally connected to these links at a point slightly remote from their pivotal mountings, while in the case of the links 60 at the right of the housings 56 and` 57 the operating stems 59 are pivotally connected to the inner ends of these links While these lastmentioned links are pivotally mounted atpoints slightly remote from their connections with the stemsj59 upon the studs 61 secured in the side walls of housings'56 and 57. The reason for so arrangingthe links ,60 is that as all of the links 60 have their outer ends pivotally connected to the ends of the piston rods 62 and are moved simultaneously thereby in one direction or the other, the brake shoes 58 will be moved towards or away from each other as the case may be for causing the brake shoes 58 to either grip or be released from the braking disk 9 of the inner or forward drive shaft 8 or to either grip lor be released from the braking ring 31 `on the outer or reverse rotor 21. The end-links 60 upon the left side of the turbine cylinder` are connected to a `second arm 'of the bell crank levers 45 having a third arm pivoted to the steam chest 33, the uppermost of the lines 60 being slightly elongated and having its extreme end pivotally `connected to the connecting actuating rod 52 of the shiftiijig lever 51 of the shifting gear50 of the governor.

l Secured upon thepiston rods 62-are the pistons 63 designed to be reciprocated in the fluid pressure cylinders 64 of which there are :live in number, two upon` the right end of the turbine frame 1, two upon the turbine and one upon the frame 1 at one sideof the turbine. 1

lLocated at a convenient point to the turbine is a controlling valve consisting of a preferably circular valve body 65 having rigidly secured therein by any suitable means a block or valve seat 66 formed with ten bores or conduits therethrough. Also within the upper portion of the bodyy 65, and adapted to rotate upon the seat 66 is a hollow disk-shaped valve 67 formed with a diametrical partition 68 therein to divide the valve 67 into two compartments, each having tive openings through their bottom walls or ten VAin all and adapted to register with the ten boxes or conduits of the valve seat 66. There is a central bore through the partition 66 and the .seat 66 through which passes a bolt 69 for rotatably mounting the valve 67 upon the seat 66, and for rotating the valve 67 there is provided at one edge thereof the operating handle or stem 7 O adapted to abut against one or `the other of the stop plates 71 secured at diametrically opposite points upon the valve body 65 in accordance with the direction of rotation of the valve 67.

Communicating with the right hand com partinent of the valve 67 is the elbow 72 connected by the universal joint 78 to the elbow 74 of the fluid pressure pipe 75 leading from a fluid pressure tank (not shown), and communicating with the left hand con'ipartment of the valve 67 is the elbow 76 connected by the universal joint 77 with the elbow 78 of :the fluid release or return i 'e 7 9 leadinfr to P P e a fluid-receiving tank (also not shown).

For the sake of convenience, brevity and clearness, the' remaining details of the construction will be combined with the description of the operation, and as the ten bores or conduits of the valve structure and the ten pipelines connected thereto each yforms a separate continuous fluid conducting means either from or to the valve structure, referenceV characters in a selected sequence will be employed in a manner as to render reading of the invention more complete and discernible, as follows:

The turbine is shown in all the views in the drawings with the parts set for operating the same as a reversely driven rotor andin` this instance, the fluid pressure, preferably oil, flows through pipe 75 and its connections into the compartment 8O of the valve 67 and through pipes 81, 82, 83, 64 and 85 Y to one end of the pressure cylinders 64 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, whereby to force the pistons 63 and piston rods 62 towards one end of the cylinders as shown, the fluid that was previously in the cylinders 64 being forced out through the release or return pipes'91, 92, 93, 94 and 95 attached to the ends of the cylinders 64 and onto the com partment 90 of the valve 67 and through the return pipe 79 to the receiving tank, and

Vthrough themechanisms before described cause two sets of the brake shoes to engage the brake disk 9 onv the inner shaft 8, thereby locking this shaft and its inner vrotor 12 against rotation. At the same time the two other sets of brake shoes will' be held free from the brake ring 31 of the outer rotor 21, the bell crank lever will force the blade section into the steam chest 33 while. the

actuating rod 52 of the shifting lever 51 will shift the double gear pinion into mesh with the bevel gear 18 upon the outer shaft l5, and at the saine time the piston rod 62 at one side of the turbine will actuate the arm to cause the double main drive gear wheel 54 to mesh with gear 17 upon the outer .shaft 15 for driving the main power shaft 53 in a reverse direction as shownby the full line screw. The outer or reverse rotor 21 now being free to rotate, steam from the steam chest 33 will strike the vanes 42 of the blade ring 41 andvfrom there exert force against the vanes BO of the rotor 21 and rebounding against the vanes 14 of the now stationary rotor 12 will be expanded and the expansion will be continuous throughout its course from the steam chest 33 to the exhaust chamber36, this being illustrated in Figure 3.

Should it be desired to convert the turbine into a forward drive rotor, the operator or attendant of the turbine will grasp the handle 7 O and rotate the valve 67 a one-half revolution until the handle strikes the stop 71 at the opposite side of the valve body 65 as Vshown in dotted lines. rFhis movement will cause the fluid under pressure to flow through the pipe 75 and its connections in to the compartment of the valve, the elbow 76 o f the pipe 7 9 being transferred to the compartment S0 of the valver, vand lthence through the pipes 91, 92, 93, 94 and 95 secured to the opposite ends of the cylinders 64, which pipes now become fluid pressure pipes, and thence onto the pressure cylinders 64. The pipes 81, 82, 83, 84 and 65 now become the release or return pipes through which the fluid, previously under pressure, returns to the compartment S() of the valve and on through pipe 79 to the fluid-receiving tank. At this juncture, the `pistons 63 and the rods 62 are shifted to the opposite ends of cylinders 64 or, opposite to the positions shown in the drawings as will be understood, whereby the brake shoes will grip the brake ring 31 of the outer rotor 21 to lock 'the same and its .shaft 15 against rotation, withdraw the blade ring sections 41 from within the steam chest 33 and shift the shift ing lever 51 to bring the double gear pinion 50 into mesh with the gear l1 on the inner shaft 8, and in the meantime the other sets of brake shoes release the brake disk 9 of the inner shaft 6 while the shifting arm 55 at the sideof the turbine shifts the double power gear wheel 54 into mesh with the bevel power gear 10 onthe shaft 8. rlhe inner rotor 12 and its shaft 8 are now free to rotate and the turbine now'becomes a forward drive rotor, the steam from the steam -chest 33 first striking'the vanes 3() of the locked outer rotor 21 rebounding against the vanes 14 of the inner rotor 12` thus causing an expansion of the steam successively from the steam chest 83 to the exhaust chamber 36 in the manner illustrated 'in Fig. 4. The main power shaft 53 will now become a forwardly driven shaft as indicated by the dotted line arrow in Fig. 2.

While I have herein shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I may resort to numerous variations and alterations in the general as well as the specific constructions thereof from time to time as I may deem expedient and which will neither depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I.Vhat I claim is:

l. In a reversible steam turbine, the combination with a forwardly driven rotor, of a reversely driven rotor, braking mechanisms for each of said rotors, fluidactuated means for applying and releasing said braking mechanisms for permitting the operation of either of said rotors selectively, and a single universal valve for controlling the flow of the fluid to and from said fluid-actuated means.

2. In a reversible steam turbine, the combination with a forwardly driven rotor, of a reversely driven rotor, braking mechanisms for each of said rotors, fluid-actuated means for applying or releasing said braking mechanisms for preventing` or permitting the operation of either of said rotors, a single universal valve for controlling the flow of the fluid to and from said fluid-actuated means, a shaft for each of said rotors, a main drive shaft, and a fluid actuated shiftable gear connection between said rotor shafts and said main drive shaft for driving the latter in either a forward or reverse direction.

3. In a reversible steam turbine, the combination with a forwardly driven rotor, of a reversely driven rotor, braking mechanisms for each of said rotors, fluid-actuated means for applying and releasing said braking mechanisms for checking or permitting the operation of either of said rotors, a single universal valve for controlling the flow of the fluid to and from said fluid-actuated means, a shaft for each of said rotors, a main drive shaft, a shiftable gear connection between said rotor shafts and said main drive shaft forV driving the main shaft either forwardly or reversely, and fluid-act uated means controlled by said single universal valve for actuating said shiftable gear connection simultaneously and in accordance with the operation of the fluid actuated means of said braking mechanisms.

4l. In a reversible steam turbine, the combination with a forwardly driven rotor, of a revcrsely driven rotor, braking mechanisms for each of said rotors, fluid-actuated means for applying or releasing said braking mechanisms for checking or permitting the .rounding said inner rotor,

5. In a reversible steam turbine, the combination with a forwardly driven rotor, of a reversely driven rotor surrounding said forwardly driven rotor, braking mechanisms for each of said rotors, fluid-actuated means for applying and releasing the braking mechanisms of either of said rotors, a shaft for each of said rotors, a main drive shaft, a shi ftable gear connection between said rotor shafts and said main drive shaft, fluid-- actuated means for actuating said shiftable gear connections, a reversible governor operating device shifted by that one of the fluid-actuated means which operates the brakes of the outer rotor, a pressure tank, a fluid tank, fluid conduits connecting said pressure tank and said fluid tank with the respective fluid-actuated means, ,and a single universal valve interposed in said fluid conduits for controlling the fluid to and from said fluid-actuated means.

6. In a reversible steam turbine, the combination with a forwardly driven inner rotor, of a reversely driven outer rotor surbraking mechanisms for each of said rotors, fluid pressure cylinders having pistons therein for actuating said braking leading to said fluid pressure cylinders, and a single universal controlling valve interposed in said fluid conduits for selectively operating said braking mechanisms for preventing the rotation of either of said rotors, whereby to permit the rotation of the other.

7. In a reversible turbine, the combination with an inner rotor, of an outer rotor surrounding said inner rotor, shafts for said rotors, a brake disk upon the inner rotor shaft, a brake ring upon said outer rotor, brake shoes for said disk and ring, pistons for operating said brake shoes, cylinders encompassing said pistons, duits leading to said cylinders, an-d a single rotary valve interposed in said conduits for controlling the flow of the fluid to and from said cylinders, whereby to brake one or the other of said rotors to permit the other to operate.

In testimony whereof I afllx my signature. Y FRED C. WEYER.

fluid pressure con mechanisms, fluid conduits 

